* Two weeks ago we reported that in Istanbul court ordered the arrest of 102 active and retired military officers.
  We received the news today that another Turkish court annulled the arrest warrants.
  According to BBC, all were accused of involvement in plotting a military takeover, in an operation codenamed sledgehammer.
  The military say it was only a contingency plan based on scenarios of political unrest.
  Read more at http://www.bbc.co.uk/

* According to the Wall Street Journal, Turkey's government on Wednesday stymied the military's bid to choose a new top command, blocking the army's candidate to head the land forces in a move that underlined the ebbing power of the country's generals.
  The four-day meeting of Turkey's Supreme Military Council came in the midst of a bitter struggle for power between the nation's sternly secularist armed forces, which have conducted or encouraged four coups since 1960, and the Islamic-leaning Justice and Development Party, the Wall Street Journal adds.
  Full article is at http://online.wsj.com/

* Associated Press reports that one of the ships seized by Israel in a deadly raid as it carried aid to the Gaza strip was returned to Turkey on Saturday.
  A flotilla including the ship returned was trying to break the Israeli embargo on Gaza.
  An official of the Human Rights Association of Turkey, one of the organizers of the flotilla , described the Israeli raid on the ship as "absolute piracy" that was more lethal than Somali piracy off the Horn of Africa.
  In related news, Israel finally agreed to an United Nations probe on the deadly raid on the flotilla.
  More at   http://www.google.com/

* According to various sources, Turkey is again ready to mediate between Israel and Syria.
  The Turkish daily Turkiye writes Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem as saying that his country would resume indirect peace talks with Israel under only Turkish mediation, ruling out any alternative to replace Ankara.
  The indirect talks between Syria and Israel were broken off after Israel launched its Gaza offensive in late 2008, which also strained Turkish-Israeli ties, the daily adds.

* Turkish daily Aksam reports that Daniel Kliman of the Center for a New American Security and Joshua Walker of the Transatlantic Academy wrote an op-ed in the Christian Sceince Monitor and said It would be a fatal mistake for Europe and the US to conclude that Turkey has been "lost" and is set to become a theocracy.
  In their piece "The West must engage, not demonize, Turkey," Kliman and Walker wrote, "A hundred years ago, debate raged in Europe over how to exploit the Ottoman Empire's decline. Today, the Turkish question is turned on its head: How can the West manage an ascendant Turkey?" Stating that the West can start to answer this question by understanding Turkey's international position, they continued, "Turkey is a member of a select geopolitical club
  rising democracies. This club encompasses not only Turkey, but also India, Brazil, Indonesia, and South Africa. Their emergence is a crucial - but untold - development of the 21st century." Stating that in the Middle East, the other regional heavyweights are either authoritarian allies (Egypt and Saudi Arabia), authoritarian and antagonistic toward the United States (Iran), or democratic but besieged on all sides (Israel), Kliman and Walker wrote, "No other state can substitute for Turkey as a pillar of stability and democratic values." Urging European and US leaders not to be seduced by the idea that Turkey is already "lost" and is inevitably fated to become a rising theocracy that will work against rather than for international order, they warned that such a conclusion would be a grave mistake.
  Read the full article at http://www.cnas.org/

* Hurriyet Daily News reports that a campaign has been launched on Twitter against Turkish PM's polygamous adviser.
  Emine Aslaner, who wears a headscarf of a religious Muslim woman, started the campaign, which has also drawn support from men.
  Mr. Ali Yilmaz, who was appointed as an adviser to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has been highly criticized for his polygamy, which first emerged after a book interview.
  Turkish laws ban polygamy.
  Read the full article at http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/
  A different version with other aspects of the story is at http://www.upi.com/

* Despite their recent public disputes, at least at the governmental level, Turks and Israelis are still doing brisk business, a New York Times article wrote on August 4.
  Bilateral trade between the two countries officially amounted to about $3 billion last year. But Israeli and Turkish business leaders say the economic ties are actually much larger.
  Read the full article at http://www.nytimes.com/

* According to Hurriyet Daily News Turkey, which is in talks with South Korea's state-controlled utility KEPCO to build a nuclear power plant, expects an agreement by the end of this month, Turkey's Energy and Natural Resources Minister Taner Yildiz said Thursday.
  Turkey wants to build two nuclear plants, one in the northern coast and the other in Akkuyu town on southern coast of the country

* The Anatolia news agency reports that Professor Engin Umut Akkaya, a scientist at the Chemistry Department of the Bilkent University in Ankara, developed nano-smart molecules that is capable of making basic arithmetic operations through chemical reactions. The invention is a milestone towards developing computers incorporating processors made of nano-molecules.
  Dr. Akkaya who won last year the Science Award of Turkey's Scientific and Technological Council, said his years long research bore fruit and he succeeded in developing a series of molecules capable of sending meaningful optical data to the macroscopic world.
  The invention of the molecule was featured in the cover of the Journal of the American Chemical Society, one of the most prestigious publications in the field of chemistry.
  More at http://www.cumhuriyet.com/

* Speaking of scientists, the number of scientists in Turkey is rising faster than in any other country in Europe, Turkey's Secretariat General for European Union Affairs announced this week, reports the Anatolia News Agency.
  The country increased its number of researchers 107 percent over the last eight years, becoming number one in the rate of increase in Europe, it said.
  Full article at http://hurriyetdailynews.com/

* According to Business Wire, Turkish Airlines and US Airways announced Tuesday that they have entered a code share agreement. According to a press release from Turkish Airlines, beginning September 1, both carriers will offer joint flights.
  The code share agreement will apply to US Airways passengers on Turkish Airlines flights from Frankfurt, Munich and Zurich to Adana, Izmir, Antalya and Akara, as well as nonstop flights on Turkish Airlines from New York City and Chicago to Istanbul. Meanwhile Turkish Airlines passengers will be able to fly U.S Airways from Frankfurt, Munich, Chicago and New York City to Charlotte, Philadelphia and Phoenix.
  Read more at http://finance.yahoo.com/

* Tucked away behind piles of tools and late-1980s CDs in his Istanbul workshop, longtime silversmith Raffi Gobel continues plying his trade as the difficult, expensive art he has dedicated his life to fast becomes obsolete.
  Sales have declined drastically in the last 10 years, Gobel, a silversmith for a quarter of a century, says bitterly as he runs his fingers through the contents of a box of pure silver pebbles. The silver is dense and malleable in his hands.
  These days, silver-filigree bowls and chandeliers are no longer coveted coffee-table items or wedding gifts; instead, over grandma’s objections, they are bundled up in cloth and tucked into the bottom drawer.
  The process of making such objects, however, is as delicate and involved as ever.
  Silver objects can only be made by combining the raw metal with another material, generally copper, Gobel explains; since silver is so malleable, pure silver objects would bend and ripple in their owners’ hands. He takes out a piece of 91 percent silver and bends it in two with his pinky finger. He tries it again with a 75 percent piece, which yields with much more difficulty.
  True silverwork starts only after the alloy is pressed into flat pieces called plaques, which are then shaped and welded, commonly into round cups, goblets, open-mouth ashtrays and candlesticks. Gobel takes out his design catalog and shows the various types of objects that can be made to order, then demonstrates by strapping himself to a chest-high mill and smoothing the ends of a plaque to make the edge of a goblet. He rolls the plaque around and says: “There. You have your mouthpiece.”
  Gobel does not sell directly to customers, nor does he make jewelry, something he calls a separate art. Instead, he sells to shops, where the silver pieces are polished and put on display. He points to a shop a few doors down, saying that some of his finished work is for sale there.
  When the melting, bending, welding and etching is finally done, Gobel says, the shopkeeper takes out a blackening rag and makes the objects shine before he puts them on display. Then all that is left is to wait for customers.
  Read more at:    http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/

* According to the Anatolia news agency, the life stories of scholars and artisans who laid the foundation of the Ottoman state are the subject of the most expensive documentary in Turkish history.
  Filmed in the Central Anatolian province of Kayseri, the $2.7 million film will examine the reasons for the Ottomans’ rise out of a nomadic milieu to the creators of a world civilization
  The film’s producer and screenwriter, Mehmet Bozdag, said there were power struggles between Turks, the Crusaders and Mongols on Anatolian soil in the lead-up to the formation of the Ottoman state. “The founder of the Ottoman State, Osman Bey, saw a dream and this dream paved the way for a civilization,” he said. “We give the milestones of it in this film.”
  Kayseri was chosen as the site of the film because “there are many historical structures in the city and they are well-protected,” Mr. Bozdag said. “This is why we shot lots of scenes of the film in these places. We will also shoot some scenes in Istanbul and [Central Anatolian] Nevsehir’s Avanos district,” he said, adding that they had prepared for the film for two years.
  More information at   http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/

* According to the Anatolia news agency, construction on the largest Japanese-style park in Turkey is almost complete and the park will be open to visitors by the end of the month, the mayor of the central Anatolian city of Konya has said.
  The 360,000 square ft. Japanese Kyoto Park, constructed by the Konya Metropolitan Municipality based on Japanese culture and architectural styles, includes a 40,000 square feet lake, a Japanese garden, a 5000 square feet cafe, terraces, stone and wooden bridges, stone lighthouses, small islands, three entrance gates, natural hills and Japanese trees and plants.
  Konya Mayor Tahir Akyürek said the park, which cost nearly $1.35 million, would open to visitors at the end of this month and would make an important contribution to the city’s tourism.
  More information at http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/
  

* Turkish athlete Ahmet Arslan won the 2010 WMRA Grand Prix in Mayrhofen, Austria on Sunday.
  Arslan, Turkey's four-time European champion since 2007, finished the race in 50 minutes 39 seconds, 30 seconds ahead of Jonathan Wyatt, the six-time World champion from New Zealand. Jessica Augusto of Switzerland finished the race in third place in 52 minutes 52 seconds.   Starting at the town center situated at 2100 feet above sea level, the 6.5-mile long course led up to the mountain station of the Penkenbahn located at 5820 feet altitude.
  Arslan will also run the race in Ebensee, Austria on August 8.

* According to the Hurriyet Daily News, following Nevin Yanit's 100-meter hurdle victory last week, over the weekend Alemitu Degfa Bekele and Elvan Abeylegesse led Turkey to a one-two finish in the 5,000-meter race at the European Championships in Barcelona, Spain.
  Turkey, in its best ever performance in the competition, finished fifth overall with three gold medals and one silver, though it had only 20 athletes competing, far fewer than other winning countries.
  This bested its previous top showing in the 2002 European Championships, when Sureyya Ayhan won one gold medal.
  Bekele won her gold in a championship-record time and reportedly got congratulations from Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
  This was the first time a Turkish duo finished one-two in an international athletics championship.